Robot bartenders are mostly novelties today. But a group of startups is hoping to bring automation to your neighborhood watering hole—and even your home bar

There’s no need to tip the mixologist at the Tipsy Robot, a glittering bar in Las Vegas where automated arms handle all the shaking, stirring, muddling and garnishing, making up to 120 cocktails an hour.

The silver-and-turquoise lounge, in the Miracle Mile Shops mall on the Strip, has 28 counter-style seats, each equipped with a tablet, facing a bar counter topped with two industrial-grade robotic arms. Patrons can order signature and classic cocktails, or fill a virtual cup with up to 14 ingredients of their choosing. Then...

Regulators are investigating and issuing public advice about a rising number of food-related outbreaks, thanks in part to technological advancements like gene sequencing. That is raising pressure on U.S. food companies to ensure safety.

Lab-grown meat is raising new questions for religious leaders, including Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, who is considering whether meat grown from animal cells in a petri dish will fit into the kosher tradition.

Scientists around the world are editing the genes of livestock to create meatier pigs, cashmere goats with longer hair and cold-weather cows that can thrive in the tropics. But amid some successes, disturbing outcomes are surfacing.